Egg Freezing in Sports: An Insurance Policy With No Guarantees

The practice of egg-freezing is gaining traction in elite sports, with clubs like Chelsea and the Spanish Football Federation offering support to players wishing to preserve their fertility. However, experts emphasize that this procedure, while offering a sense of control, comes with significant costs and no guarantee of future motherhood.

Geva Mentor, England's most decorated netball player, shared her personal experience of freezing her eggs in 2019 at the age of 35. "I was at a bit of a loss in terms of where my life was going personally, as I always wanted a family," Mentor told BBC Sport. Concerned about the potential impact of elite sport on her fertility, she viewed egg-freezing as an "insurance policy" to utilize eggs from her younger years.

The egg-freezing process involves collecting, freezing, and storing a woman's eggs for later use. For female athletes, whose careers often peak during their most fertile years, the appeal of delaying motherhood while continuing their sport can be powerful. Mentor underwent the procedure during her off-season to allow for recovery, noting that while she continued training, the final injection before egg retrieval was physically demanding. She described the recovery as difficult, experiencing heavy bleeding that kept her from full training for two weeks.

Professor Kirsty Elliott-Sale, who leads the Centre for Excellence for Women in Sport at Manchester Metropolitan University, supports fertility initiatives but cautions against viewing egg-freezing as a guaranteed solution. "Egg-freezing is an opportunity which allows them to invest in their fertility journey - at this moment - for the future," she explained. "But we need to make sure that if they want to have children during their careers, that is an opportunity for them."

Elliott-Sale stresses that fertility, pregnancy, and maternity provisions should be as well-funded as egg-freezing. She also points out that the success of egg-freezing is not assured. Factors such as the number and quality of eggs collected, their survival rate during thawing, fertilization success, and subsequent implantation and pregnancy all present potential hurdles. The impact of the procedure on an athlete's ability to train and compete also remains an area with unanswered questions.

Furthermore, the fertility drugs used to stimulate egg production are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, requiring athletes to obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). The financial aspect is also considerable; while a cycle of egg-freezing might cost around £3,350 plus medication and storage, the full process, including thawing and embryo transfer, can reach £7,000-£8,000. Chelsea's fertility fund, reportedly worth £189,000 shared among 27 players, aims to cover various services including egg-freezing and IVF.

While some athletes, like Spanish international Alexia Putellas, have welcomed such initiatives as a "huge step forward," others, such as Spanish Olympic triple jumper Ana Peleteiro-Compaore Brion, have questioned the underlying motivations, asking if the support is intended to facilitate motherhood or to allow women to avoid it during their playing careers.

Elliott-Sale reiterates that any such offers must be voluntary, clearly explained, and integrated into broader maternity support systems. Mentor, despite her challenging experience, has no regrets about freezing her eggs, which remain available for her future use, even though she has since conceived naturally.